Strength Characteristics of SIFCON Using Manufactured Sand for Elevated Temperature

The four components used in producing cement concrete generally are cement, water, sand and aggregate. But, natural sand is being depleted at present and also becoming costly, particularly in the rapidly developing countries like India. Hence, there is a necessity to develop a substitute for the fine sand for use in the concrete mixture, one of which is the manufactured sand developed from locally available quarry stone. Therefore, in this study, investigations are carried out to determine the mechanical properties of manufactured sand and Slurry Infiltrated Fibrous Concrete (SIFCON) made with the manufactured sand. Also, SIFCON specimens are exposed to the elevated temperatures for a period of one hour in this study. The fibre additions in SIFCON vary from 8% to 12% in steps of 2%. The strength properties such as compression, split tensile and flexural strength are studied in the laboratory. The higher the fibre content, the better the results that are achieved in accordance with various strengths: compressive, split tensile and flexural strength. When the specimens are exposed to the elevated temperatures the strength of specimens increases gradually up to a temperature of 300o C. Thereafter, the strength decreases.